FCC Issues Violation Notices to Two Texas FM Licensees
The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued violation notices to two Texas FM broadcasters: Houston’s 99‑watt translator K231CN (94.1 FM) and Arlington’s 58‑watt LPFM KRQP (95.5 FM). Investigators found K231CN retransmitting the wrong primary station and operating an unauthorized omnidirectional antenna without filing Form 349. KRQP had been silent for more than 30 days after equipment removal, yet failed to request a special temporary authority. Both licensees have 20 days to file a written response outlining corrective actions.
Netflix Says Its Ad-Supported Tier Now Has 250 Million Monthly Viewers
Netflix announced that its ad‑supported tier now attracts 250 million monthly active viewers and will expand to 15 additional countries next year. The growth is credited to a strong slate of titles such as "Wednesday," "The Night Agent," and "Stranger Things."...
Bret Easton Ellis's 'The Shards': Everything to Know About the Ryan Murphy-Directed TV Series
Bret Easton Ellis’s 2023 novel *The Shards* is being turned into a ten‑episode FX series directed by Ryan Murphy. The show stars Igby Rigney as a teenage Ellis and features a supporting cast that includes Kaia Gerber, Evan Rachel Wood...
Matt Stockman to Exit Pillar Media’s Top Programming Role
After more than six years, Matt Stockman will leave his role as Chief Programming Officer at Pillar Media, with his last day set for August 31. Stockman, who joined in 2020, oversaw programming strategy for the company's five stations in Denver,...
Netflix Boasts 250 Million Global MAUs, Adding 15 New Ad-Supported Countries, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ World Concert Tour in 2027
Netflix announced it now has 250 million global monthly active users, with 60 % of new sign‑ups opting for the ad‑supported tier. The company will add 15 additional ad‑supported countries in 2027, bringing the total to 27 markets for its $7.99 plan....
Netflix Renews Big Mistakes, Running Point, And 3 More Shows
Netflix announced a slate of renewals during its May upfront, extending five series across scripted and unscripted categories. Comedy‑thriller "Big Mistakes" received a second season after an eight‑episode debut, while Kate Hudson’s basketball comedy "Running Point" was green‑lit for a...
MrBeast Reveals Plans for the World’s ‘Largest Membership Program’ & New Types of Content
Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson announced a plan to launch the world’s largest YouTube membership program, offering early video access, exclusive challenges, and a charitable component. The initiative was unveiled at a Business Insider‑hosted breakfast in New York attended by brands such...
South African Artists Earned $30.69 Million on Spotify in 2025. Most of It Came From Abroad.
South African artists generated R504 million ($30.69 million) on Spotify in 2025, a 28% year‑on‑year rise and almost double the 2023 figure. Nearly 74% of that revenue came from listeners outside South Africa, making the global market the platform’s biggest source of...
Cloudbass Taps dB Broadcast, Grass Valley for New IP-Based OB Trucks for Sports
Cloudbass has commissioned dB Broadcast to build new IP‑based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for UK sports coverage, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras and K‑Frame switching. Each truck houses up to 15 UHD/HDR cameras, with 32 LDX 150 native‑IP units across...
TikTok Announces New AI Advertising Solutions
TikTok unveiled a comprehensive AI‑driven advertising suite at its 6th‑annual TikTok World summit. New premium formats such as TopReach combine TopView and TopFeed for single‑day, high‑visibility buys, while Branded Buzz and Search Hubs enable creator‑powered buzz and top‑of‑search placement. The...
European Commission Head Pushes Creation of New Law Delaying Teens’ Social Media Access
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU could propose a law this summer to raise the minimum age for social‑media access, aiming to curb teenage exposure to addictive platforms. An expert panel will deliver recommendations in the coming...
Cord Cutting Today: Major Roku Bug Breaks TVs as Fake Walmart Onn Streamers Flood the Market
Roku’s latest firmware update unintentionally disabled audio output on a subset of its smart TVs and prevented use of external sound bars, prompting a rapid rollback. Walmart’s budget‑friendly Onn Google TV players have become so popular that counterfeit versions are...
PRX Leans Into Innovation In Public Media Crisis
PRX entered 2025 amid deep public‑media funding cuts, yet reported $27.04 million in revenue and a $1.01 million deficit. The nonprofit expanded its podcast platform, added video and live‑event initiatives, and provided free Dovetail publishing to 30 stations. It now supports 900...
Get a Limo for LiMu: RAB Selects Its Radio Marketer of the Year
Liberty Mutual Insurance has been named the 2026 Radio Marketer of the Year by the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB). The accolade will be handed out at the 35th annual Radio Mercury Awards on June 3 in New York City. The insurer’s...
CBS' Tony Dokoupil to Broadcast From Taiwan After Failing to Get China Visa in Time
CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil was unable to secure a Chinese visa in time for the network’s planned live coverage of the high‑profile summit in Beijing, forcing him to broadcast instead from Taipei. The move comes as NBC and ABC...
10 Minutes With… Gaby Ferreres, Head of Industry Marketing at AWS
Amazon Web Services used the NAB Show 2026 to showcase a suite of experiential activations, including an AI‑driven Cloud Court basketball challenge and a hackathon‑style AI lab. The booth featured over 60 demos, hands‑on workshops, and a live podcast studio,...
From Campaigns to Infrastructure: Jamie Gutfreund on What Brands Still Get Wrong
Jamie Gutfreund, founder of Creator Vision and Forbes contributor, told CreatorIQ’s Earned podcast that creator marketing has moved beyond a fad but most brands still run it like a short‑term campaign. She argues that true growth requires dedicated infrastructure—centralized measurement,...
Taboola Data Reveals 76% Advertisers See Improved Performance From Agentic AI
Taboola’s new research shows 76% of advertisers experience performance gains from agentic AI, mainly on search and social platforms. The study finds 80% would boost open‑web ad spend if comparable AI tools existed, with 86% ready to allocate up to...
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Upfront Was All About Performance
Warner Bros. Discovery used its upfront to unveil two ad‑measurement initiatives. It joined OpenAP’s conversion‑API effort, allowing advertisers to match outcomes data with first‑party data across major TV publishers. The company also launched an Always‑On Measurement & Attribution Dashboard that...
Publishing for AI Search Is Like SEO in 1999. Here’s What That Means for Your Business.
AI‑driven chat interfaces like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude now pull answers from indexed web content, rewarding the most specific, useful sources. The author likens this shift to the 1999 Google SEO boom, where early adopters secured lasting rankings. By publishing...
TikTok Mounts Last-Ditch Bid to Escape EU’s Big Tech Regulations
TikTok’s parent ByteDance has taken its challenge to the EU Court of Justice, seeking to overturn the platform’s designation as a “gatekeeper” under the EU Digital Markets Act. The hearing on May 12 marks the first time the top EU...
The State of Agentic Advertising
The Digiday‑Optable State of the Industry report surveyed 180 agencies, publishers, brands and retailers on agentic advertising. While 89% of advertisers are already using or building AI agents, most publishers remain in early or fragmented stages, with 42% not prioritizing...
Earmax Media Brings Outcome-Based Podcast Advertising Model to UK Market
Australian‑founded Earmax Media has entered the UK podcast advertising market, where 39% of adults listen weekly. The agency’s outcome‑based model evaluates campaigns on business results rather than traditional reach or CPM metrics. Through its sister creative shop Eardrum, Earmax delivers...
Minnesota — and MPR — Kept Everyone’s Attention at the Start of 2026
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) surged to the top of public‑media traffic rankings in early 2026, adding 7 million site visits in January after extensive ICE coverage and attracting 25,000 new members—the most ever in a fiscal year. Similar spikes occurred at...
Peacock to Debut WNBA Games on May 17
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, will begin live‑streaming WNBA games on May 17, launching a doubleheader featuring the Las Vegas Aces vs Atlanta Dream and the Indiana Fever vs Seattle Storm. The games will air simultaneously on NBC and Peacock, with star players A’ja...
WGN, Chicago Anchor Honored with Chicago Headline Club Award
Sylvia Snowden, a WGN Chicago anchor, received the Peter Lisagor Award for Best Investigative Reporting from the Chicago Headline Club. Her award‑winning series exposed a Chicago Public Schools employee who organized a massive TikTok‑promoted West Side party despite police warnings....
Data, Experts and Early Access: What Journalists Want in 2026
Cision’s 2026 State of the Media Report, based on interviews with more than 1,800 reporters worldwide, shows that accuracy and combating misinformation remain the biggest challenges, with half of journalists citing them. Resource constraints have intensified, as 49% now flag...
Flightpath Introduces Revenue Optimizer, Giving Publishers Greater Control Over Revenue, Inventory, and Campaign Performance
Flightpath announced Revenue Optimizer, a managed traffic service for podcast and digital‑audio publishers that builds on its predictive forecasting and flight‑simulator technology. The solution is designed to increase revenue, improve campaign delivery and give operations teams greater flexibility, with an...
Magellan AI Partners with Signal Hill Insights to Deliver Full-Funnel Podcast Measurement
Magellan AI announced a partnership with Signal Hill Insights to combine podcast ad exposure data with brand‑lift research. The integration feeds Magellan’s dynamic and baked‑in ad metrics into Signal Hill’s studies, improving audience matching and control‑group reliability. Advertisers will receive...
Forget Dances. TikTok Wants People To Shop
TikTok is accelerating its shift from a short‑form video app to a full‑stack ecommerce platform. In March it unveiled TikTok GO, letting users book travel and activities directly in the feed, and introduced Branded Buzz and Search Hubs to scale creator‑driven...
Top 10 Hidden Fire TV App Every Fire TV Owner Should Try In 2026
The article spotlights ten lesser‑known Fire TV apps that broaden streaming options in 2026, ranging from free movie libraries like FilmRise to live‑news aggregators such as Haystack News. It highlights Xumo Play’s 350+ live channels, library‑driven services hoopla and Kanopy,...
OAREX & FirstPartyFinance Announce Strategic Partnership to Expand Digital Media Companies’ Access to Capital
OAREX and FirstPartyFinance have formed a strategic partnership to broaden non‑dilutive financing for companies in the digital advertising space. OAREX will extend working‑capital loans to FirstPartyCapital’s portfolio and its broader network, complementing the growth‑equity investments that FirstPartyFinance provides. The collaboration...
4 Takeaways for Local News Leaders From a Study on News Consumption by U.S. Teens and Adults
The Media Insight Project released a nationally representative study of 1,092 adults and 1,009 teens that maps how U.S. news consumers across five age groups find, trust, and pay for news. Influencers dominate teen news diets (81% of 13‑17‑year‑olds), while...
Five Local News Organizations Receive API-Knight Grants to Deepen Youth Engagement
The American Press Institute, backed by the Knight Foundation, awarded a total of $20,000 in API‑Knight Youth Engagement grants to five local news organizations. Each grantee received up to $4,000 to pilot projects that embed youth perspectives into reporting, community...
Ahead of Paramount Mega-Merger, WBD Bets on Agentic Ads
Warner Bros. Discovery introduced a suite of AI‑driven ad products at its May upfront, including shoppable ads that appear when viewers pause programming and a Kerv.ai partnership that aligns ads with specific scenes. The company also upgraded its dynamic creative tools, linking...
The Era of the Microdrama Is Here
Microdrama apps like ReelShort and DramaBox have become the most‑downloaded video‑streaming platforms worldwide, eclipsing Netflix, as mobile‑first, two‑minute episodes capture post‑pandemic scrolling habits. The U.S. market generated $819 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $3.8 billion by 2030, driven by...
How Taiwan’s United Daily News Group Uses Data and AI to Reclaim Advertising Revenue
United Daily News Group (UDN) in Taiwan has turned artificial intelligence into a commercial engine, using AI‑driven advertising to boost performance and reclaim revenue. Targeted campaigns generated click‑through rates more than 230% higher than standard placements, while thousands of ads...
Why This Hollywood Director Thinks AI Can Save L.A. Film Jobs
Director Jon Erwin used generative AI to produce the biblical miniseries “The Old Stories: Moses” entirely on a Los Angeles soundstage in just one week, employing a crew of 100. By integrating AI‑generated environments, crowds, and visual effects into a...
Netflix Launches Report on Economic & Cultural Impact of Its Productions
Netflix unveiled "The Netflix Effect," a decade‑spanning report quantifying its economic, cultural and social influence. The streaming giant says it has poured more than $135 billion into film and series production, generating over $325 billion for the global economy and creating 425,000+...
D.C. on the Docket: What’s Coming for Hispanic Radio at HRC
Frank Montero, managing partner at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, warned that the FCC’s likely July vote to relax radio multiple‑ownership limits could reshape the Hispanic broadcasting landscape. The FCC has already begun issuing market waivers, signaling a shift toward greater...
Audacy to Local Ad Buyers: Think FAST
Audacy’s digital chief Jenny Sutton warns that local advertisers are overlooking free ad‑supported streaming TV (FAST) despite its rapid growth. FAST viewership is projected to surpass 125 million by 2026, yet most local media budgets remain tied to premium subscription services....
Newsroom Profile: Mirror Indy
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom in Indianapolis, operates on a $5.4 million annual budget funded 65% by foundations, 28% by individual donors and a growing mix of corporate sponsorships. In its third year, the outlet reports 42,000 newsletter subscribers, 78,000 monthly...
TikTok Builds for the AI Future, Welcoming Third-Party Agents for Ads
TikTok announced at TikTok World that it will open its ad platform to third‑party AI agents, allowing advertisers to automate campaign creation and management. The initiative is powered by a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that functions like an API, letting...
Rakuten TV Hopes Other Streaming Companies Follow in Joining Barb
Rakuten TV announced it will be measured by Barb, the UK broadcaster‑owned TV measurement Joint Industry Committee, positioning itself as one of the first hybrid streaming platforms to adopt the standard. Senior Director Chris Edwards explained the move aims to...
Spain: Movistar Plus+ Launches €4.99 Streaming Plan
Movistar Plus+ has introduced a low‑cost tier called Plan Libre Cine y Series, priced at €4.99 per month (about $5.44). The plan gives unlimited access to the full library of films, series, documentaries and more than 70 TV channels, but...
US TV Giants Form Cross-Publisher Initiative with OpenAP
A coalition of U.S. TV giants—including A+E, AMC, Fox, Hallmark, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Scripps, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros Discovery—has partnered with OpenAP to launch a cross‑publisher initiative that standardizes the connection of first‑party outcome data to campaign exposure. The effort introduces a unified...
Bestads Best TV / Film of the Week: Hornbach’s ‘A Stupid, Useless Board’ via HeimatTBWA, Berlin
Hornbach, the European home‑improvement retailer, teamed with its agency HeimatTBWA to launch the spring campaign “A Stupid, Useless Board.” The film, judged by TBWA’s Laura Paikkari, uses a discarded piece of wood to illustrate limitless DIY possibilities. It blends humor...
Forecast: Social Media Ad Revenue at $640bn by 2030
Omdia forecasts social media advertising to reach $640 billion by 2030, growing at a 12% CAGR over the next five years. The sector’s share of total online ads is expected to rise from 33% to 44%, outpacing most digital categories. Video...
Future of TV Briefing: Inside Warner Bros. Discovery’s Programmatic Upfront Pitch
Warner Bros. Discovery says more than half of its programmatic ad demand now comes through the upfront, marking a pivotal shift toward automated buying. The company has opened live‑sports inventory—including March Madness and the upcoming French Open—to programmatic deals, requiring...
Upfront Focus: Linear Unchanged, Shift To Social Video, CTV
The latest iSpot survey of over 200 brand and agency executives shows that 45.5% of marketers now prioritize business outcomes above all else when allocating TV upfront spend. While 47.5% expect budgets to stay flat year‑over‑year, the composition is shifting...